The Seal of Stone
by Raychaell Dionzeros
Summary: When a girl resembling Valkyrie is spotted in Haggard, Valkyrie and Skulduggery investigate only to find a girl who has lost her memories from before the age of ten. Will the duo be able to solve this mystery? Full summary and pairings inside.
1. A New Case

**Hi, um, this is my first attempt at writing a story like this so if it sucks, feel free to comment. Thanks! Anyway, in this story, its two months after Death Bringer and Valkyrie is a few weeks away from turning 18. Warning! Death Bringer spoilers!**

**Summary: A girl with a striking resemblance to Valkyrie has been spotted in Haggard, and Valkyrie and Skulduggery investigate, only to find a girl with strange powers who has lost all memories of her past from 10 years ago. In the process of trying to decipher her past, a mysterious new villain by the name of Sheila Diablos has targeted anyone close to the doppelganger for some reason, and so the duo must unravel this mystery to protect the girl and also make sense of their feelings for each other.**

**Pairings: Valduggery, Ghanith, slight OC x OC/Fletcher.**

* * *

Valkyrie was mad. Very mad. She swept back her long dark hair in irritation as she stared out of the window of the Bentley in her frustration as she recalled her morning. She had been reading a book in her bedroom at Gordon's mansion, which her parents, after weeks of pleading and begging, had finally and reluctantly allowed her to move into. After all, Valkyrie was going to be eighteen in a few weeks' time, so what was the problem in allowing her learn to get used to living by herself, Valkyrie had told her parents.

What she never told them was that it meant less use of the reflection and more time with Skulduggery and gang. She was starting to regret it because a week after she moved in (with the assistance of the rest of course) , Skulduggery had turned up at her window abruptly, told her to get dressed and practically dragged her to the Bentley, and shoved her in with no explanation whatsoever!

"Are you still mad at me, Valkyrie?" That gloriously smooth velvet voice could only belong to Skulduggery Pleasant himself.

"Let's see, you drag me out of my house with no explanation whatsoever, yell at me to get dressed, then _with no courtesy whatsoever, _shove the car door in my face and drive off at an insane speed before I'm finished buckling myself in. And now, you ask me, _am I still mad at you?_ So, to answer your question, YES, YOU IDIOT!" Valkyrie yelled straight into Skulduggery's skull before turning back to the window with her arms crossed, her face black with rage and seething with anger.

After a minute or two of silence, Skulduggery replied, "Ah that was rather, unexpected."

Valkyrie turned back to him ready to yell again but was stopped by a single gloved bony finger on her lips. Seeing as to how she was being forced to shut up, she glared at him. As the car slowed to a stop at a red light, Skulduggery turned towards her and tilted his head in an amused manner as he looked at her furious expression.

"You look beautiful when you're angry, did you know that?"Skulduggery said. As soon as he said those words, he quickly looked away just like Valkyrie who blushed deeply and looked out of the passenger window.

Valkyrie had not expected those words from Skulduggery. She had always loved him, but she never dared to admit her feelings. After all, she was just seventeen years old, nearing eighteen, but Skulduggery was a four hundred year old skeleton who would never love her. Therefore, she had no intention of letting Skulduggery know for fear that she embarrassed herself when he rejected her.

* * *

After a long and awkward silence, Skulduggery finally spoke.

"Anyway, the reason why I, in your own words, dragged you out of your home with no explanations whatsoever was because we have a new case."

"A new case?" Valkyrie said, surprised, her earlier bad mood forgotten. "What is it about this time? I hope it's not some new idiot deciding to try world domination again because honestly, I've grown bored of it."

"Actually, it's not. It's about you." Skulduggery said in an awkward manner.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Apparently, recently there have been reports of a girl who looks just like you spotted outside town. But, instead of long hair hers is cut short just beneath the ears and she also dresses differently from you. From what I've been able to gather so far, the main reason she can't be you is because you have a perfect alibi; you were always with me or at home whenever your doppelganger was spotted."

"When and where was she first spotted? Also, why do I get the feeling that this is old news to you?"

"She was spotted outside Haggard three weeks ago and, well, I've known about this case for a week."

"WHAT?"

"I know that you're probably about to yell at me again about why I didn't tell you anything when I've so obviously known about this for quite a while now, but I have a valid reason for this! You were busy moving house so I didn't want to bother you while I was trying to find out more about this girl on my own."

"That is not a valid reason you arrogant fool! That's an excuse! You should have told me sooner so that we can find out who she is! In fact, if I remember correctly, you took one whole _month _just to find your favorite hat which turned out to be in your car boot the entire time. And to add to your failures, that was only after I pointed you to it. Before that, you didn't even see it even though it was right under your very nose!"

"For your information, Valkyrie, I knew where it was the whole time. I was just… testing you, to see if you were as sharp – eyed as me."

Valkyrie snorted. "Yeah, right. If that was so, then why did you hesitate when I told you where your hat was?"

"Did not, and can we get back to the topic at hand?"

"Sure, as soon as you tell me why you've decided to suddenly ask for my help." Valkyrie narrowed her eyes as soon as she realized what she was saying. "Wait a minute. What are you hiding from me this time?"

Skulduggery put an innocent tone. "Hide what? I have absolutely no reason to hide anything from you."

"Oh really? Then why are you sounding so innocent and guilty at the same time?"

"I am?"

"Yes and there's no reason why you would delay telling me this, unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Spit it out, Skulduggery. I know you're hiding something from me, and if you're not going to tell me the truth, I swear I'll go ask Erskine and Ghastly what you're hiding. I'm _pretty sure they would love _to tell me."

"Well…"

"I'm not joking."

"I know that."

"Then spit it out already!"

"Sigh… Fine. I give up. I made a bet with Ghastly and Erskine."

"_What _kind of bet?"

"They bet that I would give up working solo on this case after a week of no results."

"And if you lost the bet, what would they get?"

Skulduggery muttered darkly under his breath. "I have to treat them and their friends to their meals for a week."

"And if you refuse?"

"They'll share some embarrassing stories about me to the whole Sanctuary."

Valkyrie couldn't help it. She laughed. She laughed so hard that tears flowed down her cheeks and she had to wrap her arms around her side as the cramps from laughing so hard and long started.

Skulduggery glared at her. "This isn't funny at all!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is! It's the best thing I've ever heard of! And you know what; I just had a great idea!"

"Why do I suddenly feel so scared of this big idea of yours…?"

Valkyrie smiled evilly. "Because I'm planning to ask Ghastly and Erskine what these embarrassing stories of yours are. I'll also ask them how to use them against you too."

"You wouldn't."

"Yes I would, and I'll even help them out by spreading some of these stories to the Sanctuary."

"If you do, I won't tell you about the case. "

"But that isn't fair! You shouldn't tempt a girl like that and then take it away without a reason!"

"Speak for yourself. You're hardly a girl at all."

"Shut up Skulduggery."

"So you don't want to know more about your doppelganger?" At this Valkyrie whipped her head around and glared at Skulduggery.

"Of course I want to know! Now tell me more." Valkyrie ordered with a huff.

Skulduggery sighed before continuing. "No one has gotten an actual look at her yet. All we know so far is that she has a striking resemblance to you, has short hair, dresses differently, and also seems to possess a strange power."

"What power?"

"The power to turn people into stone." At this, Valkyrie stared at Skulduggery in shock and surprise, half expecting him to say that he was pulling her leg. He didn't, and continued instead.

"It's true, because a week ago, two Sanctuary agents named Simon Blake and Spider Castro confronted her, thinking that she was you. According to Blake, they approached the doppelganger and she refused to speak to them, saying that they got the wrong person when they called out to her with your name. Castro was rather impatient, and kept insisting that 'you drop the act and stop acting so high and mighty'. This made her rather mad, and before they could react, she turned around and punched Castro in the jaw, yelling at him to just leave her alone."

"Castro didn't like the punch and was about to fight her when he started turning into stone from where he was punched. Blake was confused and both tried to slow the process down, but it failed, since Castro eventually turned into a statue. Blake reported being horrified at the sight of his partner turning into a statue, and the girl became upset too, and said, 'I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean it! I just can't control myself!.' Then with those words said, she fled the scene."

Valkyrie was silent for a while after hearing this, and then spoke softly, repeating the girl's words out loud. "'I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean it! I just can't control myself!' Can it be she's just a new sorcerer unaware of how to control her powers?" At this Skulduggery shook his head.

"I interviewed Blake, and he told me that the girl seemed to be an Elemental since they spotted her manipulating the air around her before the confrontation. He also managed to look at her face, and recalls that her eyes are grey, and seems to be blind in her right eye too. Other than that, he didn't spot any other distinctive features."

Once again, Valkyrie lapsed into a thoughtful silence once more as she contemplated those words. The rest of the journey was spent in silence as Skulduggery drove them to the Sanctuary, where they got out and were greeted with the pleasant sight of Ghastly. "Hey Ghastly," Valkyrie said, plastering a smile on her face as she tried to keep her worries from showing. After all, Ghastly had enough burdens of his own trying to find Tanith and purge the Remnant in her.

Ghastly smiled at the sight of the duo, and was just about to greet them back when a sorcerer came dashing around the corner, nearly colliding into Ghastly himself.

"Sorry sir! I'm so sorry Elder Bespoke!" The unfortunate red headed sorcerer exclaimed in apology, while Valkyrie and Skulduggery tried their best not to laugh at Ghastly's strained expression as the young mage fussed over him in an attempt to make up for the near collision. It took numerous tries from Ghastly to stop the sorcerer from going on with his futile attempts, and when the young mage finally realized that Ghastly wasn't hurt, he looked relieved. He was about to walk off before he dashed back suddenly to the amusement of Valkyrie and Skulduggery who were trying their best to stifle their laughter.

"Elder Bespoke, Detectives Pleasant and Cain, I forgot to inform you that the doppelganger of Detective Cain has been spotted fighting with Tanith Low and Billy Ray – Sanguine." At this, all three exchanged looks of shock and surprise since they had not expected the doppelganger, not to mention Tanith and Sanguine in Haggard.

"Ghastly, we'll go get Tanith now. And in the meantime, we'll try to get the doppelganger too." Skulduggery called over his shoulder, reassuring Ghastly even as he dashed back to the Bentley with Valkyrie hot on his heels.

"Good luck! And I'll send a pair of Cleaver along too!" Ghastly called out, watching anxiously as the Bentley screeched out of the street, on its way to get Tanith and Valkyrie's doppelganger.

"Bring her back for me guys. Bring my Tanith back," Ghastly whispered, hurrying back into the Sanctuary with the intent to get the Cleavers.

* * *

**And it's done! Would you believe me if I said this story took me one year to write, cos I was rather scared to write it out, and also unsure of response. Just hope you guys loved this! Review please!**


	2. The Doppelganger named Ash

**Thanks for your wonderful review dagger fireheart. Your review and also the people who read my stories really warmed me up and encouraged me to keep writing this! And so, without further ado, I present to you this chapter to you wonderful people out there. Thank you so much!**

* * *

Valkyrie felt nervous excitement building up in her stomach as the Bentley sped towards the location where her doppelganger had been reported fighting Tanith and Sanguine. She had not been expecting this, since Valkyrie had started giving up hope after each fruitless attempt to bring Tanith back, so the news that Tanith was back in town caused hope to rise up again.

It was as if luck was on their side today, since the streets were clear and all the traffic lights they sped past showed green, which was a relief since they were too rushed for time to even think about following the laws. Valkyrie even doubted that Skulduggery would think twice about breaking the traffic rules. It didn't take them long to reach the alley where the doppelganger, Tanith and Sanguine were reported to be at, and the duo piled out of the car only to stop in shock at the sight in front of them.

The description of the doppelganger was exactly as the report had described her, with her dark hair cropped short just beneath just the ears and her clothes a contrast with Valkyrie's black outfit. The doppelganger wore a large green jacket that was clearly too big for her, and also a pair of faded blue jean. Black boots and a bandanna could be seen as well as she moved with a lithe grace that made Valkyrie a little envious. But that wasn't the only thing that shocked them. It was the sight of her fighting with Tanith and Sanguine.

The blond swordswoman could be seen clearly, frustration plain on her face as she tried to attack the doppelganger several times, only to fail with each attempt as the girl danced out of the way and managed to land a few punches and kicks on Tanith before dodging another attack from Tanith. Sanguine seemed to have similar troubles of his own as he tried to land a punch on the girl, only to have her duck out of the way and cause his punch to connect with Tanith's forehead.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" The girl yelled in frustration as both Tanith and Sanguine tried to hit her once again. Tanith merely growled angrily as her eyes darkened and the Remnant in her revealed itself. This distracted her enough for Sanguine to sink into the ground as if to flee while Tanith managed to stab her through her left shoulder. The girl screamed in agony as the blade sank deep into her shoulder, stumbling back as she did so.

This snapped Valkyrie and Skulduggery out of their shock and they were quick to dash to the girl so as to aid her. However, it seemed that the girl was still able to fight, for she still managed to dodge the blows aimed towards her.

At first, the girl seemed to fall back as she gritted her teeth in pain. All hope seemed lost as she lost strength in her left arm and Tanith lunged in once more with the intention to kill the doppelganger. But the girl wasn't willing to give up as she dropped to the ground, her right hand shooting out to plant itself on the ground as she did a handstand and kicked away the blade with a lightning fast kick. Tanith was unprepared for this and fell back in frustration as her blade flew away to bury itself in the ground. But the girl wasn't finished as she stood up once more and punched the wall beside her with her good arm, surprising everyone when Sanguine flew out of the wall, shock plain on his face as he landed in a heap in front of Tanith.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie could only gape in shock at this, and that was when everything went wrong. The Cleavers sent by Ghastly had arrived, and upon spotting the injured girl, Tanith and Sanguine, moved in to attack and arrest them. The girl paled in shock at the sight of the Cleavers, while Tanith and Sanguine took the opportunity to flee underground. Valkyrie was quick to run forth and try to get to them, but was distracted once again when the girl backed up at the sight of the Cleavers, muttering under her breath as she did so. Her breath hitched in fear, and her eyes darted everywhere, desperately searching for an opening as she clutched her injured shoulder which was still bleeding profusely.

Then both Valkyrie's and the doppelganger's eyes met, and when grey met dark brown, Valkyrie suddenly understood the girl's fear. To the girl, the Cleavers must have looked terrifying with their helmets and scythes, therefore her fear. Then the grey hardened to stone, and the girl broke eye contact with Valkyrie before directing a hard stare at the Cleavers, who immediately froze where they were. Valkyrie and Skulduggery gaped once more as the Cleavers slowly turned stone grey as the girl glared at them. When the Cleavers were fully petrified, the girl seemed to snap out of her rage, anger turning to horror as she saw the two new statues of the Cleavers.

"No, no, no! This can't be happening again! I didn't mean to, I swear I never meant to!" The girl cried in fear before she fled once more, this time running up the wall. Valkyrie didn't think. She just yelled at Skulduggery to watch over the Cleavers as she chased after the doppelganger, using the air to boost herself up, ignoring his shouts for her to wait. The doppelganger's trail was easy to follow since drops of blood marked her route so that all Valkyrie needed to do was follow the blood. Valkyrie soon spotted her doppelganger limping towards the edge of the roof of the building they were on.

The doppelganger seemed to sense her presence immediately and whirled around, a look of fear and anger on her face as she glared at Valkyrie. "Why are you following me? I don't want you to turn into a statue as well!" The girl yelled with words full of fear. The wind whipped around them, sweeping Valkyrie's hair into her face and blinding her for a few minutes. When Valkyrie could see again, the girl was staring at the ground below, as if she was considering jumping.

"Hey there! Mind telling me your name?" Valkyrie shouted desperately, hoping to distract the girl long enough for Valkyrie to tackle her to safety. It did the trick, since the girl seemed startled at the question, and tilted her head in Valkyrie's direction.

"My name? No one has asked me that in years…" The girl mused aloud.

Valkyrie was confused at this, but suddenly got an idea. "My name is Valkyrie Cain, and can you see that mansion over there?" The girl nodded. "Well it belongs to me, and since you seriously need medical attention, do you want to go back with me and seek treatment for that wound?" The girl seemed startled at this offer, but smiled again, this time full of wistfulness.

"Thank you, but no thanks. I've got to go." With that, the girl took a step backwards, and before Valkyrie could think about using the shadows to haul her back to safety, she continued, "And call me Ash." With that said Ash took another step backwards and fell back into the long drop. Valkyrie lunged forward and watched in horror as Ash did nothing to break her fall. Instead, Ash had closed her eyes as if in a trance, before landing on the ground in a half kneeling position as the ground pulverized under her instead of Ash's legs breaking from the high fall.

Valkyrie watched in shock as Ash slowly stood up, and with a final pained smile to Valkyrie, disappeared into the shadows. Valkyrie's mind reeled at the sight before her. If it wasn't for the fact that the ground still remained a crater, she would have assumed that Ash had been nothing but a hallucination. Still, the evidence was clear; Ash clearly was real.

"Valkyrie! Are you all right?" The voice belonged to Skulduggery, who had flown in search of Valkyrie once he had deduced that nothing could be done for the Cleavers who were now statues. Valkyrie sighed before getting to her feet and faced Skulduggery.

"I… talked to her, you know? I talked to her and she said that her name was Ash. But she was so scared as well. She was scared of turning me into a statue, so she ran away." Valkyrie said softly. "I just hope that she'll come back when she feels ready." With that, Valkyrie turned away and began the long trek back to the Bentley.

Skulduggery gazed at the back of Valkyrie. He didn't dare tell her how scared he was when Valkyrie chased after the doppelganger (no, her name was Ash) He had feared that Valkyrie would be turned into a statue, and that he would never be able to find a way to bring her back. He was scared of losing his Valkyrie, his partner, his beloved. With a sigh, he followed Valkyrie, but not before looking at the grey sky and thinking aloud, "Looks like it's going to rain soon."

* * *

_She hurt. She hurt everywhere. The fight with the swordswoman and the mole had been tough, because she had to tap into the power of the earth itself to keep up with them and make sure she didn't get hurt too much. Still, the stab wound in her shoulder had cost her a lot of her concentration, and now she regretted using so much power since the backlash hurt a lot._

_Then again, Ash had met the girl named Valkyrie Cain, and Ash realized why those who had not seen her eyes had mistaken her for Valkyrie. Then a rattling cough shook her thin frame once more as Ash limped forward, hissing softly when her left ankle sent her a spike of pain at her. Grey eyes, one blind and the other alert, studied her reflection in one of the numerous puddles created by the storm. The puddle showed her a pale girl clutching an injured shoulder. Wet clothes hung off her as she limped forward. Her ankle hurt due to the fact that Ash had not landed properly when jumping off the building, therefore twisting her ankle painfully._

_Still, Ash walked forward, since her memories awaited her. Ash wanted to remember who she really was, and the only way was for her to keep travelling and find any connections to her missing past. And anyway, she wasn't alone. The earth kept her company by humming their melodies to her. She felt the corners of her mouth lift in a tired smile at this. One of the main reasons why she had travelled to Ireland in the first place was because she had heard from mages all over the world that Ireland was the 'Cradle of magic'. And magic fills the earth with power, therefore the different melodies they sang. Strong and numerous magic made the melody more complex and beautiful, while earth that was simply filled with magic had a soft and peaceful tune. But it was the old stones that she loved best, since they had the most beautiful songs for her. Those songs helped her sleep during those cold nights, and lifted her lonely spirits all the time._

_Still, it seemed that the melodies had no effect on her injured body, since she felt so tired… Ash felt herself collapse on the hard stone path she had been walking on. She had been walking since afternoon, since the thunderstorm started and flooded the bridge she had been resting under, therefore forcing her to move. Coughs racked her thin frame once more as she attempted to get up._

_Getting up and moving once more, Ash kept her eyes on her destination. It was a large mansion on a hill, and she knew the journey would be hard, but she still wanted to go, since Valkyrie had invited her. _'I'll just have my wound treated then leave as soon as possible,' _she thought to herself before walking forward once more. She didn't know how she managed the long trek, but she guessed the melodies that wrapped around her helped keep her mind off the pain and cold. Coughs shook her once more as she felt her body protest against further movement. No… She had to… move forward… Ash felt her gaze blurring as the weakness took over. _Just… a little… further…_ Raising a trembling hand, she knocked on the door._

* * *

Valkyrie and Skulduggery had been poring over the files they had on Ash. After Valkyrie had told Skulduggery about the strange powers the girl possessed, they had decided to approach Gordon for help, and he now observed them as they read all the files they had on magic, but nothing jumped out at them. Then they heard the knock. It was soft, and was nearly drowned out by the thunder, but all three heard it, and exchanged wary glances. After all, who would come to the mansion in the middle of a thunderstorm?

Skulduggery withdrew his revolver as he moved forward to the door, Valkyrie close behind with a fireball in her left hand and shadows in her right. Both moved silently, their movements bringing them closer to the door with each step. Skulduggery was the first to reach the door. He held up a hand with three gloved fingers, and silently counted down. _Three, two, one. _At the count of one, Skulduggery yanked the door in, opening it to reveal a pale faced girl swaying on her feet.

It was Ash.

Ash seemed to sense their shocked gazes on her, and managed a tired smile before fainting, falling into Skulduggery's arms. The duo exchanged glances of shock, and Ash managed to stir a little, her faint words barely reaching them. "Sorry…" Ash murmured before losing consciousness once more.

"Skulduggery, she needs to get medical attention immediately. Let's take her to the Sanctuary." Valkyrie said, worry plain in her tone. Skulduggery nodded, and replied, "All right, but get her another jacket since she's cold. And bring along some old clothes of yours; her clothes are too wet." Valkyrie nodded at this before running upstairs while Skulduggery cradled the unconscious Ash in his arms.

He carried her to his car, and Valkyrie soon joined him carrying a bundle of clothes. She set down a thick coat on the backseat, and Skulduggery gently set her down on it. A blanket was used to cover Ash, and when it was done, the duo hurriedly got into the car and set off for the Sanctuary.

It didn't take them long to reach the Sanctuary in Roarhaven, where Skulduggery barged through the surprised mages, cradling Ash in his arms while Valkyrie followed close behind. They reached the infirmary in time to see Dr Nye just stepping out. It was surprised to see the two detectives, especially another girl with a striking resemblance to Valkyrie in Skulduggery's arms. Skulduggery set Ash down carefully on an empty bed, before drawing his gun again and pointing it at Nye's head. "Treat her," Skulduggery growled, while Valkyrie glared at Nye too. Nye nodded, too surprised for words and began to heal Ash.

"Skulduggery, what's going on? People are saying you ran in with a girl looking like Valkyrie in your arms." It was Erskine, and he entered with worry plain on his face. The Grand Mage gave way to a sigh of relief at the sight of a healthy Valkyrie, and continued. "Phew, and here I was thinking that Skulduggery dragged you to some other confrontation again." Valkyrie couldn't help but laugh at this comment, while Skulduggery retorted, "I didn't know you were so worried about us, your Majesty." Erskine flushed with embarrassment at this while both Skulduggery and Valkyrie tried their best to stifle their laughter.

"So who's the one everyone's been talking about then?" Erskine wanted to know, ignoring the laughter.

"We don't exactly know much about her, except for the fact that she's Valkyrie's doppelganger and, according to Valkyrie, calls herself Ash." Skulduggery answered. Valkyrie couldn't help but glance at the infirmary door that was now closed while Nye worked to heal Ash. She was worried that Nye would try to hurt Ash, and Skulduggery seemed to pick up on her worry, for he put a hand on her shoulder, those empty eye sockets of his looking straight into her worried eyes. "Ash will be fine. After all, she's being treated by the best. Now get some rest all right?" Skulduggery ordered gently. Valkyrie gave way to a tired nod, and after sitting down on a chair, immediately fell asleep.

* * *

**TADA! I did it! I've finally introduced my OC into this properly! If you like it, review please!**


	3. Waking Up

**Hey everyone! Thanks for reading my story and staying with me! In this chapter, I'll fully explain Ash and how she fits into this! Enjoy!  
Disclaimer: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant. Only Derek Landy does.**

**Note: To all VK anime fans out there, there will be similarities with the anime in this fanfic, so don't bother me with useless questions about how there are similarities with the anime. I confess, the anime actually inspired this fanfic, so don't flame me if I use part of it as my writing source.**

"_Speech"_ – Ash's reflection/voice inside head speaking

_Thinking_

'_Talking to reflection/voice inside head'_

* * *

She was dreaming, dreaming of watching her reflection in a mirror. She saw a girl with long black hair cropped just beneath the ears and stone grey eyes, the right eye pale and covered with a white film. The reflection was tall and dressed in a long pale pink dress, and red roses pinned to a baby pink ribbon could be seen around her neck as she clutched a black rabbit that had red glass marbles for eyes and a ruby red ribbon around the throat. Soft pink slippers covered her feet as she watched the ragged looking her curiously. The ragged girl put a hand on the mirror, and the other her mirrored her movement, before speaking in a voice that was somewhat different from the ragged girl's in tone.

"_It's almost time."_

"What do you mean?"

"_It's almost time for the both of us to wake up. For the Girl Demon to wake up and defend us once more."_

"But who's the Girl Demon?" At this, her reflection gave way to a mysterious smile, before talking again, her voice now full of malice as her right eye flashed gold.

"_I am." _With that, the reflection reached through the mirror and grabbed the ragged girl by the throat, causing her to wake up in shock.

Ash had no idea where she was; she was puzzled as to why she was dressed differently in a white hospital gown and that she was in some kind of hospital room. Then a creature **(A/N: I won't be describing Nye because his description is rather hard to write out.) **walked in through the double doors on the other side of the room, dressed as a doctor and muttering something under his breath before he noticed Ash's curious stare in his direction.

"So you're awake, young lady. Now let me see if that shoulder of yours and see if it's fully healed." The creature snapped irritably as he headed towards Ash and pushed her down roughly. Years of instinct took over; Ash automatically grabbed the creature's wrist and shoved him to the wall behind her, pinning him there. Then she felt the familiar surge of power start from her right eye, then flow down to her hands, and released her hold in shock as she watched the creature slowly turn into a statue. _No, please no! I can't bear for another person into a statue because of me! _Ash thought desperately as she saw him start to struggle as his body slowly hardened.

"_Then stop it. Will the stone to _obey_ you." _Ash's eyes widened upon hearing the voice in her head and scooted back on the bed, clutching her head. She knew that voice; it belonged to her reflection. As if to confirm her suspicion, the voice spoke again, the darkness and humour in its tone apparent.

_"Yes, it's me. Now listen closely, since I won't repeat myself a second time. The earth responds to your emotions since you still have not learned how to screen your emotions from the earth yet. They react to you and when you are upset or angry, they will turn those who upset you into statues. Therefore, you must exert your will on them, and show them that not everyone means you harm. This way, you can control this power of yours and not harm anyone. So tell the earth that you want them to stop doing this and release all the innocents they have turned so that they can live again. Do you understand? If you do, just think your response to me."_ Ash nodded at this, before thinking, _'I understand. Thank you.'_ The voice just snorted in reply and Ash felt the presence fade away at the same time as the stone grey pallor receded from the creature.

Ash watched cautiously as the creature gave way to a gasp before gulping in air as the stone pallor receded from it, allowing herself a small sigh of relief. Then she felt the presence once again, and heard her voice. _"Just remember one thing; never reveal anything about me. After all, do you want all those mages looking at you like you're crazy because you talk to yourself?"_ At this scornful tone, Ash couldn't help but hesitate at this, before thinking a reply.

'_Of course, I'll keep it a secret.'_ Ash thought in reply. As before, the presence in her mind faded away, leaving her alone with the creature, which seemed mad. But before it could do anything, the doors opened again revealing Valkyrie, and… _a skeleton?_ Both seemed to be arguing about something, and their distraction allowed the creature to give way to huff of displeasure before turning away. Valkyrie noticed this, and scowled at the creature before turning her attention back to the now curious Ash.

"Ash! You're awake!" Valkyrie said brightly. "Let me introduce to you my stupid partner, Skulduggery Pleasant." Valkyrie introduced, gesturing towards the sharply dressed skeleton at her side. The skeleton seemed to take offense at this, and tilted his skull towards Valkyrie.

"I am not stupid Valkyrie. Don't give the wrong impression to her." Skulduggery mock – scolded the grinning Valkyrie, who retorted.

"If you're not stupid, then what are you?" Valkyrie said with a huff. Skulduggery was quick to reply to this.

"I am smart, handsome, intelligent, debonair-"

"Yeah right. Prove it."

"Oh I will, Valkyrie. In fact, I'll prove it later on when I show you proof of my intelligence!" Skulduggery retorted, glaring at Valkyrie, who was close to replying until a loud giggle interrupted them. Both turned their heads towards Ash, who was trying her best not to laugh as she sat on the bed watching them argue.

"What's so funny?" Valkyrie enquired. Ash managed to stifle her laughter long enough to speak.

"You two act like a married couple. Are you, by any chance, dating or engaged?" Ash asked, managing not to laugh while Valkyrie and Skulduggery looked away in embarrassment.

"No we're not, Ash. You just got the wrong impression that's all." Valkyrie said hastily, trying her best not to look at Skulduggery. "Anyway, you seem fine, so would you mind coming with us? There are some people who wish to meet you." Ash was startled upon hearing this. The old fear came back to her as her thoughts raced. _What if they find out about the voice? Would they call me mad?_ Ash thought frantically, but her face betrayed nothing except for a curious smile.

"Sure thing," she replied before slipping off the bed carefully. It took her a few seconds to recover though, since a dizzy spell had taken over her when her bare feet touched the ground. Speaking of which….

"Valkyrie, may I know where my clothes are?" Ash enquired politely. Valkyrie smacked her forehead in exasperation at this, and hurriedly handed over a bundle of clothes even as she explained.

"Your own clothes were too large and also too wet, so I brought along some of my old clothes since we're basically around the same size I guess. Now, there's a bathroom there where you may change, so we'll outside the door for you. Just call out if you need anything." With that, Valkyrie gently shoved Ash towards the bathroom, where she started changing.

* * *

Ash shook out the clothes with a childish wonder. The clothes looked rather new, and smelled nice too. They didn't have the stink of garbage or several days' sweat on them. Instead, they smelled faintly of lavender, and this made Ash happy. After all, her clothes had either been stolen from either clothing lines or else thrift stores. Heck, the only clothes she had were those on her, since she had awoken seven to eight years ago dressed in winter attire and no memory of who she was. Shaking her head ruefully at the memory, Ash was quick to dress. Studying her reflection in the mirror, Ash saw herself wearing a blue cotton shirt with a black jacket over it. Black pants and boots completed the look, and Ash was delighted to find her lucky bandanna among the clothes. She had found the red bandanna in a dump, and had bent down to pick it up.

That decision saved her life, since she had just bent down when a bullet whizzed over her head, killing another scavenger. She managed to run away in time with the bandanna in hand, and ever since then she kept the bandanna with her. Ash tied the bandanna around her neck once more, revelling in the fact that there was a faint scent of roses coming from it. With a sigh of contentment, Ash stepped out of the bathroom only to see Valkyrie and Skulduggery in the middle of yet another argument.

"… Over Fletcher! I'm not in love with him anymore so stop making wrong assumptions Skulduggery!" Valkyrie said angrily. Skulduggery crossed his arms at this before replying.

"If that is so, who's your new love interest?" He retorted. Valkyrie blushed at this before mumbling.

"No one…"

"If that is so, why are you blushing away?"

"That's because I – Hey Ash where are you going?" Valkyrie called out hastily, dashing to Ash, who had stepped out of the bathroom and, upon noticing their distraction, had attempted to sneak away.

Ash cringed upon hearing Valkyrie shout for her to stop, then, without warning, a forgotten memory surged over her.

_Blood… Blood everywhere. She sees the red blood on her hands, and couldn't help but feel scared. Where was_ he?_ Where were her parents?_

Crackle… crackle…_ She could smell smoke and hear the fire around her, and she felt scared. Terror surged through her, making her back away in fear. She desperately wanted someone to be there and help her. Help her get out of here. Help _me!

"… Wake up! Ash wake up!" Someone was shouting in her face, shaking her shoulders. Blinking her eyes, Ash suddenly found herself looking into Valkyrie's eyes, which were filled with worry that cleared upon seeing Ash blink and return to reality. Blinking yet again, Ash raised trembling hands to her face, covering her face even as she whispered.

"I… I remember. I remember being scared, and then wishing my parents or someone would help me since there was blood and fire surrounding me." Ash whispered dazedly while Valkyrie and Skulduggery exchanged looks of confusion at this.

"Ash, may I know what do you mean by that?" Skulduggery asked curiously. Ash blinked again, before smiling sheepishly.

"Is there somewhere we can sit and chat since what I'm about to tell you is rather long and I really wish to sit down?" Ash asked. Skulduggery and Valkyrie were quick to lead her to an empty room, where Ash sat down heavily before starting.

"Ok, I'm about to tell you guys a secret of mine. This is my first time telling anyone about my past, so I would appreciate it if you do not interrupt me and leave the questions for later."

"I have… a confession to make. I don't remember my past. To be more exact, I don't remember anything from before the age of ten. My first memory is waking up to find myself in a snow covered field, and there's snow falling around me. I was dressed in winter attire; as in a winter coat and snow boots, and also a wool scarf to keep me warm. I was kneeling down in the snow, and I was still rather surprised when a man came up to me and tore off his skin to reveal himself as a vampire. The vampire attacked me and would have killed me if it weren't for the intervention of a mage whom I later learned was a Necromancer."

"I still remember his name. He called himself Nicolas Goldeyes, and he chose that name because his eyes are truly gold. I don't remember much about him, other than his eyes and his Necromancy container, which is a sword, and it was with that same sword that Nicolas decapitated the vampire that tried to kill me. Of course, I didn't know that till later when he explained after he took me back to the American Sanctuary. He gave me a name, and called me Elise. I don't exactly know why I found it so familiar, but the name Elise seemed to fit me, so I kept that name for three years. I thought I could stay with him forever, but a few days before my birthday; which is the day Nicolas saved my life and brought me to the Sanctuary, a large coven of vampires attacked the Sanctuary, and I got captured."

"I admit; I panicked, since I am not exactly a social person and I tend to stick more to Big Brother Nic; which was what I liked to call him. I was terrified of the vampire that had kidnapped me, and strangely enough, it seemed a little scared of me too. I never really understood why it was scared of me, but I remember being scared, wishing that Nicolas was there to save me. Then something unforgettable happened; the vampire started attacking me when I attempted to escape, and in my fear, I could only stare at it in terror. The vampire locked eyes with me, and before I knew it, it froze and turned to stone."

"You would have thought that was all, but it wasn't. Instead, the statue started showing cracks soon after turning to stone, then broke apart into ashes in front of my eyes. I was… So shocked. You have to understand that I was just thirteen then, so it was a terrifying sight for me to see a monster like that turn into ashes from my stare alone. It was then I decided to run. I couldn't trust myself around people anymore, and I was terrified of turning my loved ones into stone or ashes. So I ran away."

"I changed my name a few days later and took on the name Ash to remind myself of my ability. But for some reason or another, I still felt unsatisfied till I saw the name Aislinn in a poster somewhere. So I decided to call myself Aislinn Night, Night being a reminder of my first memory, which is a snowy night. When I chose that name, I felt complete, so nowadays, I tend to go by the name Aislinn Night, or else Ash. Anyway, you must be wondering about why I came here and also my strange powers."

"The truth is… I don't know. All I can tell you is that I have a connection to the earth itself that's more than the usual Elemental stuff. I know this because I chose to be an Elemental so as to better understand my powers. It didn't work. Instead, I just learned another way to defend myself without using my unusual powers. Still, the songs of the earth are simply… beautiful. There are no other words to describe it. You must be wondering what I'm talking about. I can tell by the looks you're giving each other."

"Well, here's what I know so far. Whenever you guys do magic, some of it goes to the earth and remains there untapped. If someone manipulates the earth using magic, they're just putting in more power to the earth. This creates beautiful melodies that only I can hear. All this power remained untapped until I came along. A few years ago, when I was rather exhausted, I wished I had more strength since I was trapped in a fight with multiple opponents. I didn't know how to control my petrifying glare, so all I could do was curl up and wish for the fight to end. I remember that my hands were on the ground as I tried to get up and fight, but it was futile since I kept getting pushed down. All of a sudden, all this… _energy _poured through my hands and all my exhaustion went away. I felt… _invincible._ I was able to stand up and fight back against all those men, and when the fight was over, I felt exhausted again."

"That was how I learned that all that power came at a cost; whenever I use it, there will be a backlash from it, making me feel deeply exhausted. That was what happened when I first met you guys that day. In order to keep up with the swordswoman and the mole, I had to tap into large amounts of power from the earth to avoid serious injuries. Then when she stabbed me, I lost concentration and all that power backfired on me. That was also why I didn't manage to control myself in time and stop myself from turning those innocent people into stone. So I wish to apologise. If you want me to, I can try and reverse the stone curse from all those people I cursed." Ash finished softly, looking down with at her hands.

Valkyrie couldn't help herself from blurting out in shock. "_YOU CAN?"_

Ash blushed shyly at this, and murmured in response, "I only learnt about it recently. It was when I controlled my emotions that I got a grip on my powers, so I think I can reverse my mistakes."

Skulduggery gave way to a sigh at this, and asked, "So what do want us to call you; Ash or Aislinn?" Ash smiled faintly before replying.

"I would prefer Ash, but Aislinn is fine by me. Now, would you like me to reverse the damage I caused to your people?" Ash/Aislinn questioned, tilting her head curiously. Skulduggery and Valkyrie exchanged looks of contemplation, before reaching a decision and nodding at Aislinn.

"Come on, we'll take you to where the victims are." Skulduggery said as he got up, Valkyrie a few seconds later. Aislinn smiled at this, and got up to follow them. Skulduggery and Valkyrie lead Aislinn to another room, where the three statues of the innocents she had cursed stood in while other mages pored over them in hopes of finding a way to free them from the stone curse. Aislinn couldn't help but sigh sadly, tears pricking her eyes as she thought of what she had done. She stepped forward, forgetting about the mages as her hand came up, hovering over the three.

"What have I done? Why didn't I control myself?" Aislinn cried out loud, thinking about her mistakes. With her head bowed, Aislinn thought despairingly as she closed her eyes, _it's all my fault! I should never have done it to them! Please, stop this already!_ With that thought, the stone pallor receded to the amazement of the mages. Castro was the first to wake up. The fair haired mage blinked when his head returned to normal, looking around in confusion until his eyes settled on Aislinn, who had opened her eyes in time and smiled happily to see the curse lift.

"You! You did this to me!" Castro yelled in anger as he stepped forward aggressively, making Aislinn fall back in fear. Behind him, the Cleavers had also recovered, and apparently, had not forgotten their orders to capture Aislinn since they too stepped forward to arrest her. Skulduggery and Valkyrie moved forward as one to defend Aislinn, who had her head bowed in remorse even as her thin frame shook with suppressed sobs.

"I'm sorry! I swear I'm so sorry! I never meant to hurt anyone in the first place!" Aislinn cried out fearfully.

"All three of you, stop threatening Aislinn. She just brought you guys back to normal so don't you dare threaten her!" Valkyrie said sharply, her hands open in a calming gesture. The Cleavers immediately stopped, but Castro ignored her order in his, bent upon hurting Aislinn to make sure she paid for all she had done to him. Skulduggery saw this coming and was quick to restrain Castro to prevent him from going any further.

"Valkyrie, you should take Aislinn out of here and calm her down," Skulduggery suggested even as he restrained the still livid Castro. Valkyrie nodded and led a distraught Aislinn out of the room and outside of the Sanctuary. Settling the both of them on a bench, Valkyrie tried her best to soothe the sobbing Aislinn.

"Come on Ash, its ok. No one blames you for what happened so stop crying?" Valkyrie pleaded. Aislinn's sobs subsided as she tried to rein in her emotions. After all, she had no wish to condemn her new friend to a life of paralysis. Valkyrie smiled to see Aislinn smile hesitantly. With a sigh, Aislinn felt exhaustion take over once more as the excitement of the day seeped away.

"Tired?" Valkyrie questioned. Aislinn nodded, and Valkyrie looped an arm around the other girl's shoulders, bringing Aislinn close so that she could lean upon Valkyrie's shoulder. With a sigh, both girls watched the sun set, both of them enjoying the peace and solitude.

"Hey Ash, not that I'm angry or anything, but how did you manage to make Sanguine pop out from the ground with just a punch? I mean, no one has ever gotten him when he's underground, but you just punched the wall, and he came out like that! That's awesome you know?" Valkyrie questioned eagerly, breaking the comfortable silence and making Aislinn blink in surprise.

"Who's Sanguine?" Aislinn questioned in her confusion.

Valkyrie smacked her face and groaned in exasperation at herself for this mistake. She had forgotten that Aislinn had never met Sanguine before, therefore the confusion. She fumbled for an explanation. "He's, you know, the blond haired guy whom you fought two days ago. Remember him?"

Aislinn's eyes lit up at the memory, and she was quick to reply. "You mean the mole?" At Valkyrie's nod, Aislinn explained, "I've always been connected to the earth somehow, so when the earth told me that he was hiding in the wall and ready to attack me from behind, I punched the wall to make the earth reject him. Still, it was a hard battle since my shoulder still hurt."

"Cool." Valkyrie breathed. Aislinn ducked her head in embarrassment at the wonder on Valkyrie's face, her gaze turning back to the setting sun. She couldn't help but feel safe with Valkyrie. After all, the other girl had not taken offense at having a doppelganger, and was also surprisingly kind with her. Not to mention, the skeleton, as weird as he may be, was kind to her too. She didn't see what could go wrong, so, with another sigh of contentment, Aislinn rested her head on Valkyrie's shoulder once more and watched the sun set.

* * *

**And this chapter is finally complete! Thanks cranium mischief, LolaCabana and Skylair Hernandez for reviewing and staying with me! I'll try to update sooner if I see reviews. So review already you guys!**


	4. Vampires, why vampires!

**Hey everyone! Due to the marvellous reviews you guys gave me, I decided to update faster! So, enjoy!**

**Thanks to: arti dauntless, irishimprint, cranium mischief and skylair henandez for reviewing! Thank you so much everyone! I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant.**

* * *

Aislinn felt nervous as she stared at the three imposing figures seated in the high chairs at the table. Skulduggery and Valkyrie had brought her into this room to meet the Elders; having to reassure her several times that no one blamed her for turning those people into , she felt apprehensive despite Valkyrie's calming presence behind her. Skulduggery was in front, introducing her and her strange abilities, telling her story for her. She had resisted against it at first; after all, she had kept this secret to herself for so long, but Skulduggery had told her that her story may be essential to helping them decipher her forgotten past. So she agreed reluctantly, and now awaited their comments with nervous apprehension.

"… And so that's why Ash came here, hoping to find out more about her missing past and her mysterious magic. However, she had no control over her magic when we first found about her, therefore she unintentionally turned them to stone." Skulduggery finished, stepping back to Valkyrie's side, which was behind Aislinn. Once again, she felt nervous at the silence that descended upon the room, and wished that someone would speak already, and that she would not be nervous. With a sigh, she listened to the melodies of the stone beneath her, and felt a little better as their rock solid confidence and calm wrapped around her, allowing her to straighten with a slight smile.

"So you're saying Detective Cain's doppelganger possesses some kind of unknown magic that connects her to the earth itself? That kind of magic doesn't exist." The black veiled woman – Madam Mist, Valkyrie whispered in Aislinn's ear - scoffed, her voice full of scorn. Aislinn felt the familiar anger surge through her, and she was severely tempted to reduce the Elder to ashes then dust. Only Valkyrie's calming hand on her shoulder kept her mind clear enough that Aislinn took in a slow breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She let her eyes roam as Skulduggery steadily explained once again about Aislinn's uncertainty over her magic. At first sight, Aislinn had seen the three Elders looking stiff, but now that she had cleared her mind, she saw clearly the other two male Elders were clearly uncomfortable with their robes and seats, and kept tugging at their collars or else shifting around restlessly in their high backed chairs. She allowed herself an inner smile, and then one of them caught her gaze. He was a bald man, with scars covering his head, but his eyes were filled with kindness as he looked at her. Aislinn blushed, and ducked her head. A few seconds later, she peeked out from under her lashes, and he was still looking at her with a patient gaze, only now his other companion; the other male Elder, watched her too. Catching her shy gaze, he gave her a quick friendly wink to show that he was harmless. Aislinn blinked at this, but shyly winked back before dropping her gaze once more and blushing away.

Behind her, Valkyrie whispered their names. "The one with the scars is Ghastly Bespoke. He's a tailor, and he made my work clothes. Those clothes saved my life plenty of times so I'm really grateful to him. The other, more handsome looking guy next to him is the Grand Mage, Erskine Ravel. He's really nice once you get to know him, and he's a close friend to Skulduggery and I, so you can trust him." Aislinn relaxed at this, since she trusted Skulduggery and Valkyrie, the two of them having promised that they would do everything they can to help her out and recover her memories.

Skulduggery's explanation seemed to have ended, and he now looked expectedly at her as if expecting Aislinn to speak. "Hey Skulduggery, now that you know who she is, or at least basically what Miss Night here remembers of herself, what will you do?" Erskine asked, leaning forward in interest.

"Well, I was hoping for a chance to investigate Ash's past and see what we can find out about her. That is, if your Excellences would agree to let us do so?" Skulduggery asked mildly. This made Valkyrie and Aislinn hide their smiles behind their hands while Erskine and Ghastly flushed in embarrassment at the fancy titles. Only Madame Mist seemed unaffected as she replied with a monotone.

"If that's what you want, I don't see any problem with it. Who knows, we may probably find about Miss Night's strange brand of magic as well." Madame Mist said with her tone full of boredom. Erskine and Ghastly agreed too, and with that the meeting was over and Aislinn found herself being led outside by Skulduggery and Valkyrie.

"Now that the meeting's over, who's up for a bite?" Skulduggery asked brightly. Valkyrie was quick to argue back.

"Skulduggery, you don't eat. Hell, you don't even have a stomach at all so how can you eat?" Valkyrie retorted. Skulduggery seemed ready to reply back, only for a large growl to break their argument. Both turned to see Aislinn blushing away furiously, her cheeks scarlet as she clutched herself around the waist. Another growl soon sounded, again from Aislinn who looked down in embarrassment.

"Sorry guys, but it's just that, I haven't had much to eat out on the streets." Aislinn whispered, letting her hair screen her from the rest. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Aislinn flinched at first, but the hand remained there, and so she looked up reluctantly into Valkyrie's friendly face.

"Hey it's all right. No need to be shy over your hunger. I mean, I'm starved too, so let's go to a nearby café to grab a bite. Skulduggery will pay for us." Valkyrie said with a grin even as she turned her head towards Skulduggery who faked annoyance and renewed his argument with Valkyrie. Aislinn felt, strangely enough, happy and at peace as she looked at the two arguing figures. She hadn't felt so… so… _safe. _In the years ever since she fled from Nicolas in her fear, she had never lent anyone her trust, and kept moving on no matter what. She never stayed in one place for too long, and always made sure that she remained on guard at all times. But now, with Skulduggery and Valkyrie, she didn't feel distrustful of them. Instead, her instincts told her she could trust them. With a slight smile, Aislinn allowed the duo to take the lead as they argued all the way to the Bentley.

* * *

Skulduggery and Valkyrie watched in astonishment as plate after plate of food were wiped clean of their contents by Aislinn. They had brought Aislinn to a small café near Valkyrie's mansion. There, they had allowed Aislinn to order almost every item on the menu, and when the items arrived, Aislinn's eyes had lit up with happiness and she had wolfed down the food set before her with an amazing speed. "Wow, Ash, you must truly be very hungry." Valkyrie observed aloud with an awed tone.

Aislinn managed to pause long enough to speak. "Out in the streets, I could only find scarps or leftovers of foods, or else steal food from tables. Not to mention, when I use my magic and channel the magic in the earth into myself, I end up feeling very hungry. So, I usually just eat all that I can." With that, she started on another dish, this time a turkey pie, leaving Valkyrie and Skulduggery speechless.

Then another question occurred to Valkyrie. "Hey Aislinn, I kept forgetting to ask, but you're blind in your right eye, correct?" Aislinn stilled at this question before replying slowly.

"Yes, and before you ask, when I woke up, I found myself like that already. I still have no idea whether I was born like this, or did something happen to me and cause my partial blindness." With that, Aislinn dived back into her meal, leaving Valkyrie no chance to ask another question. With a sigh, Valkyrie went back to sipping at the blueberry smoothie she had ordered, idly watching people pass through or by the café they were in. It was around dusk that Aislinn suddenly froze in the middle of eating a chicken burger. Valkyrie was just about to ask Aislinn what was wrong when Skulduggery clutched her arm.

His fake lips brushed her right ear, making her suppress a shiver of pleasure, but his next words chased away all her pleasure. "Don't look, but two vampires have just entered the shop. I also believe we've been surrounded by their coven as well." He whispered, a fake smile on his façade, which was a handsome man with dark brown hair and sparkling green eyes. To the public, he would have seemed like he was whispering sweet nothings into his sweetheart's ears, but Aislinn and Valkyrie knew the truth. The noise and babble in the café helped disguise the conversation, and Aislinn took the opportunity to whisper her own knowledge on the vampires.

"There are around twenty of them surrounding this café, and I suspect that they'll attack us as soon as the sun sets." Aislinn murmured, her voice barely loud enough for them to hear as she hid her lips behind her cup of mango juice. Valkyrie and Skulduggery froze a little at her revelation, but kept their fake smiles. Without speaking, Valkyrie got up first since she sat on the outer end of the bench. Skulduggery and Aislinn were quick to follow, Skulduggery having paid the bill earlier when their food was first served. With a casual ease, the three of them headed out, and Aislinn kept them updated.

"They're following us. Judging by how their footsteps seem uneven, I'll say that they're getting ready to rip off their skin. I suggest we move to a secluded area" Aislinn murmured again.

"Hey Ash, just a curious question, how on earth do you know how many vampires there are and also know that there were vampires in the crowd?" Valkyrie whispered.

"It's simple; vampires are fleet footed, so their footsteps are light, making them easy to mark out. So judging by the number of footsteps, I know how many vampires there are." Aislinn replied easily in an undertone.

"Ladies, stop talking. We're here." Skulduggery said, turning into an abandoned park. Once there, they found themselves surrounded by vampires, who started to rip off their skin when the sun finally disappeared. It was disgusting, Aislinn later reflected, watching the vampires rip off their clothes with their skin, revealing a pale and bloodthirsty beast beneath. The vampires hissed at them, and lunged straight for Aislinn, who acted on instinct.

Seeing as to how she faced the first wave, she punched the ground to the shock of Valkyrie and Skulduggery, who had their hands full with another group that had tried to surround them. A rock wall rose in front of Aislinn, causing some of the unlucky vampires who were in front to crash into the wall, screaming away while their companions swerved away in time and tried to attack from the exposed sides. Valkyrie took care of those by throwing fireballs at them while Skulduggery crated a steady stream of flame at his end. But it seemed as if with every vampire they killed, three more rose in its place, making it hard for them to defeat all the vampires. Not to mention, all of the vampires seemed intent on reaching Aislinn, who was trying her best to fend them off with her stone gaze, but it was hard, seeing as to how her emotions were all over the place, making her attempts spotty at best.

"Ash watch out! Behind you!" Skulduggery bellowed even as he repelled several vampires with air. Aislinn had been trying to fend off the vampires on her side, but she had not realised that one of them had snuck up behind her, and without warning, swiped at her. Aislinn was dazed by the swipe, and was barely aware of the vampire pinning her to a brick wall, ready to kill her. Skulduggery and Valkyrie could only watch helplessly from their side even as they tried their best to fend off the vampires that had attacked them to lure them away from Aislinn.

Valkyrie could only cry out helplessly as the vampire raised its head, ready to tear out Aislinn throat and drink her blood. "Ash watch out! You have to wake up! AISLINN WAKE UP!"

The vampire merely growled in annoyance at Valkyrie's scream, bending its head to Aislinn's throat. Then it froze. Valkyrie and Skulduggery were confused at first, until they saw the pale hand gripping the vampire's throat, and then heard a quiet voice snarl.

"_Get the fuck away from me."_

Those words were from Aislinn, her eyes opening to show a petrifying glare. The vampire didn't move. Instead, cracks began to show all over it, spider webbing all over it, and a few seconds later, the vampire dissolved into ashes, then dust. Skulduggery, Valkyrie and the rest of the vampires could only stare in shock. Aislinn calmly stepped over the dusty remains of the vampire and surveyed the rest of the vampires with an uncharacteristic glare. "Filthy leeches, didn't your creator ever tell you never to mess with _me_?" With that, Aislinn gave way to eerie laughter that made Valkyrie shiver in fear, since something in that laughter reminded her of Darquesse.

It was as if the laughter was a switch, since the vampires snarled as one and lunged forward once more for Aislinn, who merely stood her ground, and with a smirk, made a cutting gesture with her right hand. With that gesture, a circle of air rose up in waves around Aislinn, and right before their eyes, a bright pink circular symbol appeared beneath her feet. Valkyrie could only make out an emblem of a rose in the sudden light, but her attention was soon brought back to the vampires. All of them had set their eyes upon the symbol when it first appeared, and they now froze before dissolving into ashes too. Skulduggery and Valkyrie shared a moment of shock before Aislinn stepped forth again, her clothes ripped in places where the vampires had landed hits.

That was when a lone vampire tried to take the chance to attack. The vampire had wisely stayed behind when its companions rushed forward. Now, it tried to take Aislinn by surprise, swiping at her from out of nowhere.

Or at least, tried to. Aislinn didn't do anything, but give the vampire a calm look. The vampire froze, unable to move, helpless as Aislinn's hand wrapped around the vampire's throat, choking him. "Filthy bloodsucker, tell the rest that Aislinn Night is not one to be messed with, understand?" Aislinn said pleasantly, her sickly sweet voice sending shudders up Valkyrie's spine. The vampire nodded, and once the chokehold was released, fled into the night. Aislinn dusted her hands casually, before turning back to Valkyrie and Skulduggery with a seemingly tired smile, walking slowly towards them. It was the slow walk of a predator that gave away the fact that Aislinn wasn't herself, and Skulduggery further proved it when his gun came up and the muzzle was pointed straight at Aislinn's head. This caused her to stop in her tracks, her smile still in place.

"Who are you?" Skulduggery asked calmly, his aim never wavering even as he ignored Valkyrie's yelp of shock.

"What do you mean by that?" Aislinn asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Valkyrie was the one who replied. "You're not Aislinn; because Aislinn is not the type who can fight so calmly and not be affected by all those vampires. Also, Aislinn doesn't cuss, so that's a dead giveaway. Now tell us, who're you?"

Aislinn – no, not Aislinn – chuckled at this, darkness seeping through her laughter even as she cackled, bending over and clutching her sides. When she looked up, the familiar shy smile that belonged to Aislinn was not there. Instead, a crazed grin was apparent on her features even as she smirked at them. "How clever of you two; and here I was thinking that you two are like any other stupid morons out there. But then again, you don't know _everything_ about Aislinn, so who are you to judge? I suppose I must give you some applause for that, but I don't feel like it. I also do not wish to tell you my name yet. After all, I still have to think whether I like it." Skulduggery and Valkyrie exchanged confused looks at this, but before they could ask anything else, they heard some noise behind them. They turned to see Erskine running towards them with a squad of Cleavers trailing him.

"Looks like it's my cue to leave," Not – Aislinn murmured. Valkyrie could have _sworn _she saw a gleam of gold in Aislinn's right eye, before Not - Aislinn blinked; her right eye no longer an empty grey. Instead, it was replaced with a symbol similar – no, the same symbol as before. Aislinn swayed on her feet, putting her hand over her face.

"Skulduggery, Valkyrie, I don't feel too good…" Aislinn barely finished before she fainted, collapsing to the hard floor unconscious. Skulduggery and Valkyrie acted as one; both dashed forward to aid the unconscious girl. Valkyrie, acting on a hunch, lifted Aislinn's right eyelid, to reveal the symbol glowing softly. It showed a bright pink rose symbol set within a circle, and it continued glowing a soft pink. Valkyrie had never seen such a symbol before. Skulduggery's words confirmed her suspicions. "Valkyrie, I've never seen this symbol before. Not even on… Chi – China." Skulduggery hesitated on speaking the name of the woman who had caused the murder of his family. Valkyrie understood. She herself had not even thought of forgiving China for all that she had done, but now…

"Skulduggery, I hate to say this, but… We may have to talk to China after this. I mean, we need to take a look at her books and see what we can find out about this s. I mean, we need to take a look at her books and see what we can find out about this symbol and Aislinn's missing past." Skulduggery was silent for a while, until Erskine was close to their position.

"You're right, but I want you to check with Gordon first. Only if there are no other sources of information we can use, then I will let you talk to China." Skulduggery replied quietly just as Erskine reached them.

"Skulduggery, Valkyrie! Are you all right? Where's Aislinn?" Erskine asked in a worried tone. Skulduggery straightened, carrying the unconscious Aislinn in his arms even as Valkyrie rose with him in perfect synchrony.

"Aislinn passed out from exhaustion. But more importantly, Erskine, what are you doing here? Weren't you still at the Sanctuary? And what's with the squad of Cleavers?" Valkyrie asked curiously. Erskine grimaced at this before replying.

"Someone reported seeing a horde of vampires in this park, and the three of you were trapped by them as well. So I brought the Cleavers along thinking you needed backup, but from the looks of things…" At this, Erskine looked around, surveying the now empty park, "I'll say that you didn't need the backup after all. Where are the vampires anyway?" Erskine asked curiously, even as Skulduggery led the way back to where he had parked the Bentley.

"The vampires? They're the pile of ashes and dust you're seeing now." Valkyrie said tiredly. Now that the adrenaline surge was over, she felt deeply exhausted, and couldn't wait to get home to rest.

Erskine stopped in his tracks at this. Staring at Valkyrie in shock, he asked, "What do you mean they're the pile of ashes and dust everywhere? It's impossible, even for you and Skulduggery, to take on a horde of vampires and survive!" This made Valkyrie sigh before replying.

"It wasn't us. It was Aislinn. She just, just, all of a sudden turned all the vampires into ashes and dust with the force of her glare alone! Skulduggery and I didn't do anything at all!" Valkyrie exclaimed.

Erskine looked ready to argue the impossibility of this had Skulduggery not interrupted them. "Look Erskine, Valkyrie's exhausted, and Ash is unconscious, so let's leave the interrogation for later when both are refreshed, understand?" Skulduggery said sharply in defence of his beloved and friend. Erskine was taken aback by the sharpness in Skulduggery's tone, but he agreed reluctantly. With the escort of Erskine and the Cleavers, they quietly set off for the Bentley.

* * *

**Wow… To think that Aislinn is so powerful that she can kill all the vampires. Not to mention, who on earth is this mysterious, and strangely enough, powerful side of Aislinn? I won't say it! Anyway, think this chapter is over? Oh no! Here's a special mini chapter for all of you to chew on!**

* * *

_She rested, seemingly at peace had it not been for the fact that her eyes were open and her pretty features were twisted into a crazed expression. She wore a plain dark grey coat, the collar turned down while her black hair spilled over the collar of her black shirt. Her upper features were hidden behind a black mask, her golden right eye the only one visible since an empty space covered the other eye. The girl curled up, wrapping her arms around her jean clad legs. She whispered to herself in that empty void she existed in, softly singing an eerie tune._

'There were once two girls,

One kind, the other fierce.

They loved each other so much,

That they stayed together through everything.

Then the bad man came and killed the fierce one,

And made the kind girl cry.

So the fierce one made a promise to the kind one,

To stay and defend her always!

So now that the bad man is back,

The fierce one will defend the kind one!

And no one will hurt the kind one ever again,

Cos the fierce one will always be strong enough to

Kill all those who hurt the kind one and made her cry.

_The girl stopped singing at this, and her expression turned savage even as she whispered, "Yes, I'll defend you no matter what. I'll make sure all those fools regret ever hurting you or making you upset." She let out a crazed giggle at this, and opened her single eye wide, the golden eye glowing brightly as she straightened in the black void in which she existed._

"_Soon… Soon enough… I'll get out of here soon enough and show the whole world what I'm made of!" She declared fiercely, then hunched over into a predatory stance, murmuring to herself. "Yes, soon they'll know the name of… _**SHEILA DIABLOS**!" _This was declared with a howl that sent ripples through the black endless void._

_Giggling madly to herself, the one eyed girl thought savagely, _Let them worry about poor little Aislinn Night. I'll just wait, and when the time's right, she'll call for me and I'll be there. _With that, she clutched her sides, giggling madly all the while._

* * *

**Hope you guys loved the mini chapter! And yes, you heard right; Sheila Diablos is coming! But how will she appear? That's for me to know and you to find out in the next chapter! If you want more mini chapters after each chapter, simply leave a comment after each chapter and I'll do it! But… I won't do it if I see less than three reviews per chapter! Bye then!**


	5. The Awakening

**The administrators of are as of June 4th going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence, but there are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long.**

**This is my protestation against the removal of our beloved lemons. Sure, there are some crass and crude representatives of the fiction world out there, but do they really need to be the cause of the works of art that grace this site to be demolished in an instant? NO!**

**SO rise up my fellow fans of fiction, and sign your online handle to this fine petition and together we WILL stop the travesty of this movement!**

**Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.**

**Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.**

**Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.**

**For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.**

**It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.**

**If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.**

**While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.**

**There is absolutely no point in having an "M" rating if the content is not, in fact, mature. I feel it would be both more fair and more practical to simply make the "M" rated section of the site unavailable to anyone who does not have a profile on. All users should have a date of birth put in during sign up. In this way you can ensure that M-rated fics are inaccessible to anyone who is not willing to verify that they are 18 years old or older. It is ridiculous to limit fanfictions in the way that you are proposing. While, yes, some stories are simply pornographic there are many times that adult situations or violence can be used to make a more effective point. It should not be in your power to make that judgment call. After all, the author of the bestselling fiction series "50 Shades of Grey" had her start in erotic "Twilight" fanfiction, which only illustrates my point. For a website whose entire purpose is the proliferation of creativity, your attempts to stifle such works is at best hypocritical and at worst straight up censorship...which should be a dirty word for anyone who loves reading.**

**For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.**

**Also, show support here: / forum. fanfiction topic/ 111772/ 63683250/ 5/ #63703800**

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Noir Detective**

**Time Hollow**

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**Nostalgic Remedy**

**Paco the Taco Maker**

**Ireadtomuch**

**Marauder Heir**

**ScifiSOS**

**xAkireix**

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**Makoed**

**Raychaell Dionzeros**

**If you could do what some other authors have done and post this petition as a temporary new chapter on some of your stories to help spread the word? It would help a lot it's how I found out about this.**

* * *

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for reviewing once more! Sorry about the late update, but I had exams to study for, and also holidays to go on. Thank you anyway to my loyal reviewers irishimprint and skylair herdanez! I love you! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant. Only the OCs belongs to me.**

**P.S. Sam, if you're reading this, thanks once again for your encouragement! And I agree; Skulman seriously needs to be more sarcastic.**

* * *

Aislinn had no idea how long she was out. She vaguely remembered a vampire attacking her, hearing Valkyrie's scream, then… Nothing; there was a big blank after that. She only remembered seeing Skulduggery and Valkyrie, then collapsing. Now, even as she felt her sense returning to her, she felt a soft surface beneath her, and heard voices above her, murmuring away in worried tones. With a tired sigh, she opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw when her vision cleared was Valkyrie's and Skulduggery's worried faces, or at least Valkyrie's since Skulduggery's façade was no longer on him. Both sighed in relief upon seeing Aislinn open her eyes, and tried to speak at the same time.

"Ash we were so worried about you! You scared us there for a moment when you fainted!" Valkyrie exclaimed anxiously.

"What happened just now when that vampire attacked you and you underwent a total change of personality?" Skulduggery asked sharply.

Aislinn could only blink in surprise as she tried to process their questions. She couldn't help but feel that there was something…_ Different_ about herself, but she couldn't pinpoint the feeling, so she ignored it and tried to understand their questions. When she finally understood, she replied, "I'm all right Valkyrie, but Skulduggery, what do you mean that I underwent a total change of personality?" Skulduggery and Valkyrie stared at her when she asked this.

"Don't you remember?" Valkyrie asked curiously. Aislinn shook her head in response.

"I only remember getting hit by the vampire and got knocked out as a result. I don't remember the rest." Aislinn explained. This made Skulduggery and Valkyrie blink in surprise.

Skulduggery answered this, "Are you SURE you don't remember anything, Ash?" Aislinn shook her head in reply, which made Valkyrie sigh before telling Aislinn what had happened after she had been knocked out. Aislinn silently absorbed the news that she had undergone a total change of personality and had defeated all the vampires singlehandedly. It sounded… rather far-fetched to her, but she trusted the duo, and anyway, she didn't peg Valkyrie as the kind who lied a lot.

With a sigh, she asked for a mirror so that she could see the change in her right eye. Valkyrie had told the truth; Aislinn could see the rose symbol **(A/N: I saw that goddamn symbol on FB once, but it disappeared when I tried to look for it again, so basically, just imagine what it looks like based upon the descriptions I gave you guys. Sorry…)** upon her eye, and she couldn't help but feel wonder at her new eye, and absent-mindedly touched her right eye, only to freeze. Skulduggery and Valkyrie, who were arguing once more over Aislinn, did not notice her sudden freeze.

Aislinn had frozen because she had _seen_, with her right eye, her hand coming up to touch her face. Hesitantly she repeated the gesture, hardly daring to believe that what she had seen wasn't an illusion. It wasn't. A huge grin grew on her face at this, and without warning, she grabbed a surprised Valkyrie and Skulduggery around their waists and whooped in delight. "Aislinn, what's going on?" Valkyrie managed to blurt out in her shock.

Aislinn gave way to delighted laughter at this even as she twirled around happily to the confusion of the others. "I can SEE! I CAN SEE AGAIN!" Aislinn squealed excitedly, making Valkyrie squeal in equal delight at her friend's happiness, and join her in twirling around while an amused Skulduggery observed the two girls. The happy atmosphere lasted for a while, before an exhausted Aislinn sat down on a couch and observed her surroundings for the first time.

She saw a large wooden door at one side of the large room, and large bookshelves hugged the walls. A glass chandelier was the main source of illumination, while a grand staircase led up to a second floor where she could see smaller door stretching on. Blinking in surprise, Aislinn realised that she knew the place, albeit vaguely. "This is…" Aislinn murmured, her voice echoed by the large space, allowing the rest to hear her.

"Hey Ash, welcome to my mansion," Valkyrie said enthusically, grinning brightly. Aislinn's smile widened at this, and allowed Valkyrie to drag her to a room while Skulduggery followed, chipping in every now and then.

"Valkyrie, where are you taking me to?" Aislinn questioned curiously.

Valkyrie grinned at this, and replied. "I'm taking you to see my Uncle Gordon. And before I forget, are you interested in helping me prank him?" She asked eagerly. Skulduggery interjected at this.

"Now now, Valkyrie, don't corrupt her. She needs someone who can positively influence her, like me." Skulduggery chided, gently grabbing Aislinn by the shoulders.

Valkyrie was quick to retort. "As if; I'm not a corrupt influence, you are! And don't give me crap about how you're better than me when I can always blackmail you." Aislinn couldn't help but smile as the two partners once again launched into their usual arguments, forgetting about her as they descended into a room where Valkyrie yanked a plain black book out of its place in a shelf hugging the wall. To her surprise, the bookshelf moved aside to reveal a gloomy passage which led into a room where she could hear a distinctly male voice talking away. Valkyrie paused in her argument at this, and grinned happily.

"Hey Gordon, we're back!" Valkyrie called out, walking out of the gloom into a brightly lit room where Aislinnn discovered the source of the voice. It belonged to a potbellied figure that paused in conversation to greet Valkyrie.

"My dear niece, you have finally returned I see." Gordon replied brightly, drifting forward with his arms open to welcome them. Aislinn, feeling shy, hid behind Skulduggery who gently nudged her forward. Valkyrie grabbed Ash's hand and stepped forward.

"Gordon, meet my doppelganger, Aislinn Night." Valkyrie introduced Ash, who blushed and ducked her head in embarrassment. Gordon could only blink in shock at the close resemblance between the two, before laughing away.

"You finally found her then? So this is why you have been poring all over my books all this time I see." Gordon exclaimed happily, peering curiously at Aislinn who blushed and ducked her head once more.

It took a while to convince Aislinn to say hi to Gordon, and when they finally came out, it was night time. Aislinn couldn't help but yawn in exhaustion, making Valkyrie yawn too. Skulduggery chuckled at this, making Valkyrie glare at him. "What's so funny?" Valkyrie said, making Skulduggery chuckle once more.

"You and Aislinn both seem so alike," was his reply, which caused Aislinn to blush. Valkyrie ignored Skulduggery's reply and led the way to an empty room simply furnished with a large bed, a wardrobe and a study desk, which Aislinn was told was now all hers.

"For me?" Aislinn asked, surprised by Valkyrie's words. She got a nod in reply, making Aislinn grin and hug Valkyrie tightly in response.

"Thank you thank you THANK YOU!" Aislinn squealed happily, making Skulduggery laugh. An exhausted Aislinn soon yawned once more, bidding the rest good night even as she closed the door. With a happy sigh, Aislinn changed into a forest green nightgown she had found in the wardrobe. Aislinn stared at the mirror that had been in the wardrobe, and couldn't help but think to herself, _it's been a while since I heard the reflection. Wonder why she hasn't been talking much… _With a sigh and a quick shake of her head, Aislinn decided to think about it the next day even as she kicked off her shoes before slipping into bed. _I can get used to this,_ was Aislinn's last coherent thought before she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

_She opened her eyes. One gold eye stared out into the gloom of the night even as she chuckled, the darkness in her tone apparent. "Finally," she breathed, "I thought that she'll never relax and make it hard for me to come out and let me free." Sheila giggled even as she rose; sitting up and observing the room she was in. She had been getting restless in the black void that was her prison, waiting for her time to get out. Now, it was time to fulfil her role as Aislinn's defender._

_She got out of bed and was about to head for the window that was on the side of the room she was in when she spotted her reflection. _A nightgown, _Sheila thought in disgust. A nightgown wasn't appropriate for what she was going to do, so she needed a change of attire. Looking into the wardrobe, she was pleased to find a dark grey coat hemmed with a blood red colour. A black long sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans were put on as well, while she took Aislinn's black boots as her own since they fit her perfectly. Her mask had been the only thing that came out of the black void with her, and she now adjusted her outfit, pleased to find that she looked perfect as a threat. With a crazed grin, she headed for the window once more, tilting her face back to feel the caress of the wind._

_She was tempted to leap straight to the ground and cause some damage to the plain fields below, but then she wanted to leave no trace of her presence, so with a sigh, she simply clambered out of the window and climbed down the wall, her fingers clever enough to find the tiny, almost non – existent cracks in the wall. When she was close enough to jump to the ground safely, Sheila leaped off the wall and landed on her right knee, bending it even as her hand shot out to support her. Her landing had gone unnoticed, which was good since she had no plans to reveal herself yet. Still…_

"_Whom should I hunt first?" Sheila mused aloud, tapping her chin thoughtfully. There were plenty of choices; for example the insufferable Elder Madame Mist. Sheila hated her for making Aislinn upset, and longed to kill that woman. However, Sheila had no idea where Madame Mist was, and had no interest in spiders anyway, so she crossed Madame Mist off her mental list. There were also the vampires who had hurt Aislinn, but vampires held no interest for her at the moment, so that left…_

"_He'll do," Sheila decided and with a dark grin, she once again set off with an easy lope, her destination set in mind._

_It didn't take her long to run to her destination since the earth moved with her, boosting her speed greatly and making sure she reached her destination in the space of half an hour. After leaping from roof to roof, she now straightened on the roof on one of the shops at the bottom of the hill. Sheila tilted her head to the side to better see the house with her single eye. "Someone's going to have his rest interrupted soon," she murmured, and leaped off the roof easily, landing on the ground unscathed. With the same ground eating lope as before, Sheila headed for the house at the top, only to pause as a new thought occurred to her._

"_I need some backup." Sheila decided, and without hesitation, punched the ground just like Aislinn had done. However, she wasn't interested in defence this time. No. What she wanted was far beneath the earth, far into the depths of magic that lay waiting to be tapped. With a gleeful smile, Sheila drew upon the power and directed it; not towards herself, but towards the earth itself. The ground around her cracked as creatures made out of impenetrable rock formed around her, pulling themselves out of the ground all around Sheila. Forming limbs and heads of stone, they turned towards her even as she straightened to survey her handiwork. The golems – which were what Sheila had decided to name them - awaited her with the patience of millennia old rock. Sheila knew instinctively that the rock golems she had created may be hers, but they still had the pride and stubbornness typical of rock spirits, so she needed to prove to them that she was the strongest._

"_My golems," Sheila whispered, watching with awe as they turned their stone heads towards her in question. "My golems," Sheila repeated, "I want you to obey me. Do not forget that I am the one who awakened you in the first place, so make me angry and I'll strip away the magic that currently gives you all life, understand?" She asked sharply. The golems seemed to confer among themselves, turning their heads towards each other as they conferred mentally. Sheila heard their discussion though, since she possessed a bond towards her creatures, which meant she heard their every thought clearly. It took only a few minutes for them to reach a decision, and when they did, they turned towards her and bent their front limbs in a clear bow of submission._

_Sheila smirked at this, before climbing on the back of one of them, a rose vine growing from her hands. The thickest part of the vine went into her mount's mouth, while the ends were clutched in her hands as reins to control the golem with. Her feet sank into the stone, but Sheila wasn't worried, since she could easily get out anytime she wanted to. With a sharp crack of the makeshift reins, the golems moved forward, easily climbing the hill and reaching the house at the top. Sheila gave way to an insane giggle then. "You're mine now, bonehead." Sheila whispered, already licking her lips in anticipation at the battle ahead._

* * *

Skulduggery was mediating as usual - or at least trying to, since he couldn't stop thinking about Valkyrie and her every smile, her laughter, her happiness, her beauty… He just couldn't stop thinking all about Valkyrie. He loved her so deeply that every moment without seeing her made his non-existent heart ache. With a sigh, Skulduggery tried to arrange himself into a more comfortable position once more, hoping to get some rest. That was when he heard it.

It sounded like a rock fall, and Skulduggery's instincts told him that sound meant trouble. Without hesitation, he threw himself off his chair, and just in time too, since a large object dropped _fast _onto the space he had vacated just a few seconds ago. A large cloud of dust and dirt billowed in his direction, and Skulduggery quickly manipulated the air around him into a bubble, ensuring that the dust did not touch him. The cloud soon cleared enough to reveal a creature – there was no other word to describe it – and a girl with short black hair like Aislinn's upon its back. The girl's bangs covered her face, but he could make out a mask covering her upper features and eyes.

Then the girl straightened, her long grey coat billowing around her. A single gold eye could be seen as she faced Skulduggery and gave way to a crazed grin. "Knock knock, anyone home? Oh hello there, Skulduggery Pleasant. Hope you don't mind me dropping in." She said cheerfully, her voice full of dark humour as she gave way to a giggle at her pun. Skulduggery sighed at this, and tilted his head in curiosity.

"May I know who you are and what that… creature is?" Skulduggery enquired, making the girl smile once more, this time seemingly normal.

"The name's Sheila Diablos, and this here, is my golem. In fact, I came here looking for a fight and to satisfy a personal vendetta of mine, so let me introduce you to my POWER!" This was ended with a loud bellow that brought in several more golems who swarmed in through the hole in the roof. It had been created by Sheila who merely punched the roof, causing it to break. Skulduggery was quick to act, drawing his gun and shooting at Sheila and the golems swarming towards him. It was useless; being of stone, the bullets did nothing but chip splinters from the stone golems. As for Sheila, she used the golems as her shield, hiding from any bullet threatening to hit her. Frustrated, Skulduggery decided to use magic.

Streams of fire came from his hands, and would have scorched Sheila had she not dived out of the way in the last second, rising with her hand outstretched towards Skulduggery. As if in response, the ground around Skulduggery cracked, and thorny vines whipped out of the ground and bound him, dragging him down to his knees. He fought to escape, but the vines held him tight, the thorns piercing his clothes and fastening itself to his skeletal frame. "You think mere vines can hold me? Think again." Skulduggery said calmly, struggling all the while to free himself. Sheila couldn't help but give way to a crazed giggle once more, her single eye widening in glee as she declared.

"These aren't merely vines! They are carnivorous black roses which thorns drain your life, magic and energy, giving them all to me and making me even stronger!" As if to prove that declaration, Skulduggery felt exhaustion and weakness wash over him, making him collapse. The golems now surrounded him and Skulduggery could only watch helplessly as a pair of them grabbed his arms, pulling them behind his back painfully. Sheila came over the, and leaned over him with a frown. She jerked his skull up by the chin with a hand and her frown deepened.

"Where's the rest of your power? Where is that dark necromancer magic that makes you so strong?" Sheila snapped unexpectedly. If Skulduggery had eyes, he would have stared at her with eyes widened, since he had not expected her to know about his necromancy and Lord Vile. At his lack of answer, Sheila hissed in anger before turning away, leaving the golems to start pulling him apart by the arms. Skulduggery screamed in agony at this, and this brought a smile to Sheila's face. After all, the main purpose of her coming here was because this man had frightened Aislinn and made her scared. Yes, that skeleton had to die for the crime of scaring Aislinn.

A flash of light caught her eye then. Turning sharply, Sheila saw the beginnings of dawn coming. With a sigh, Sheila mentally ordered the golems to stop and release Skulduggery, who collapsed onto his knees in relief as his torment stopped. "It's almost dawn." Sheila mused aloud, making Skulduggery look up in surprise at her. With a smile of dark glee, Sheila turned back to him.

"I have to go, so good bye then, bone head!" Sheila said brightly, leaping onto a nearby golem which knocked down his door along with the wall surrounding it. With a bloodcurdling howl, Sheila and the golems left through the hole. As soon as Sheila had disappeared from sight, the roses holding him down wilted, losing their grip on him and dropping down in a pile around him. Skulduggery examined the wilted roses with curiosity, and sifted through the pile of dead roses, only to be surprised when he found a perfectly fine black rose among the pile of wilted roses. Picking it up with curiosity, Skulduggery could have sworn he heard a ghost of Sheila's insane laughter drifting in the wind. With a sigh, he straightened once more and surveyed the damage done during his short battle with Sheila.

"This is going to take a while."

* * *

**TADA! Ok, yes I know I'm a bad authoress for updating so late but I had exams to take and projects to do so this story may** **be on a temporary hiatus, so please bear with me! That said, another mini chapter for everyone!**

_Sheila floated around in her world the black void, her eyes closed as a serene expression spread over her face. Her golems were not here; as soon as daybreak came, her magic had waned, loosening the magic that held them together and causing them to break apart, piles of rock the only evidence of their presence. Still, she knew she could easily summon them again. Opening her eyes, Sheila gave way to laughter which would have sent chills up the spine of anyone listening. She felt so… _powerful_…. Yes, all the magic she had stolen from the skeleton was now in her and felt so good, buzzing around her, making her restless for more. "Yes, more. More magic and I WILL BE FREE!" Sheila roared, before dissolving into giggles._

_With a sigh Sheila settled down, closing her eyes as she tried to relax and get ready. After all, she still needed more magic if she wanted to be free and also not exhaust Aislinn in the meantime. Yes… More magic and she would be free! Still…_

"_Aislinn…" The name slipped past Sheila's lips with a reverent sigh. Sheila _loved _Aislinn, and couldn't bear the thought of hurting the other girl and making her cry. "Aislinn shall never be sad, not while I'm here. I'll be your knight, and protect you forever, just like how I promised you ten years ago before the bad man destroyed our peace and made you forget everything! I'll destroy those who make you sad, protect you forever, and make sure you remember all the happy times again!" With that, Sheila started her planning for her rebirth as Aislinn's knight and protector. _Soon,_ Sheila thought savagely, _soon those who hurt you will pay for everything they've done!

**Yes, I know the mini chapter is rather short, but I just couldn't figure out how to describe everything, so yea, mini chapter became a mini mini chapter. Hope you enjoyed it though! Please review! **


	6. Memories

**Hey guys! Sorry about the long hiatus, but I was bogged down with multiple school projects, fighting evil plot bunnies, and maintaining my online page (Check out Operation: Prank Skulman on FB! Simply leave any pranks you want to prank Skul and gang with and my friends and I will do it!) Anyways, does anyone know who Sheila REALLY is yet? If you do, PM me, don't spoil it for the others! Nah… Just kidding. Don't say it! Let's get on with it then!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant. I ONLY OWN MY OCS!**

**Sammie: Come on, you're my BFF and my inspiration! That's the reason why your name is in this!**

**SebastianMichealisForLife: Thank you for reading! Your bf is coming in a few chapters btw. Maybe this chapter…**

**blade dauntless: Ya know, I really was thinking about putting that in! And what you're suggesting is actually a MAJOR spoiler! Great minds think alike after all.**

**Skylair Hernandez: Here ya go!**

**Irishimprint: Your wait is over.**

* * *

"_Come on Elise! Big Brother's coming home soon and I want to see what he brought for us today!" ***** said, grabbing Aislinn's hand in hers even as Aislinn ran to keep up with *****. The two girls ran down the corridor, eager to find their brother, but Aislinn tripped then. She fell painfully on her knee, and both girls stared in shock at the bright crimson patch growing on Aislinn's grazed knee. Aislinn was the first to cry, ***** second since she felt Aislinn's bond through their unique bond with each other and felt upset at Aislinn's pain. That was how Big Brother found them when he came home, both crying away at the pain._

"_Elise, *****, why are you two crying?" Big Brother asked with that gentle voice of his. ***** stopped sobbing, looking at Big Brother with tear filled eyes as she replied._

"_That's because Lizzy is in pain." ***** said, stifling a sob even as she used Elizabeth's other nickname. Big Brother sighed at this, and ruffled the twins' hair, effectively stopping their tears as they gazed at their Big Brother curiously._

"_Stop crying, my lovely girls. Big Brother's here now, and I promise that you won't be in pain while I'm here." He murmured quietly. This made ***** enquire curiously in defence of her twin._

"_But what if you're not here? Who will defend Lizzy then?" She asked. Big Brother laughed softly at this, and looked into *****'s solemn gaze._

"_If I'm not here, you shall defend and protect Elise for me then, my dear *****." ***** pondered this, before nodding eagerly._

"_I will!" ***** said happily, hugging her Big Brother and her otherwise silent twin._

* * *

Aislinn woke up at this, her dream memory slowly fading away even as she sat up with a shocked look, murmuring to herself. "A memory… I remember having a twin sister and…" Aislinn scrunched up her eyebrows in deep thought, trying to remember her dream. She didn't get anything however, since she was distracted by the sensation of something cool trickling down her cheeks.

Aislinn blinked, and put a hand to her face, dabbing away at her cheeks. Bringing her hands away, Aislinn looked at her fingertips, surprised to find a glistening liquid there. A quick lick confirmed her suspicions that she was crying, and she hugged her knees briefly, trying her best but failing to remember the faces from her memory. Aislinn sighed in disappointment. She had wanted so badly to remember, but it appeared that she wouldn't be able to after all. With a quick shake of her head, Aislinn decided to get changed for breakfast. She crossed over to the wardrobe and opened it, her eyes briefly scanning the selection before she pulled out a plain white blouse and a pair of faded blue jeans. With that, Aislinn slipped into the bathroom to change and checked her appearance. Once satisfied, she went down to the kitchen where she found Valkyrie biting into a piece of toast.

Valkyrie beamed at Aislinn who lingered shyly at the doorway, as if unsure about what to do. "Well, come on in Ash! Don't just stand there; just take a seat! What do you want for breakfast? I don't really know how to cook, so I'm afraid there aren't many options, unless you can cook?" Valkyrie enquired. Aislinn shook her head at the question before slinking into a seat at the kitchen table. She picked up a piece of toast and nibbled away, enjoying the delicious jam and the quiet peace.

"What is our schedule for the day?" Aislinn asked after a few minutes of idyllic silence.

"Oh, Skulduggery called earlier, saying that he was coming over soon since he had some news to share with us, and wanted us to be prepared for anything." Valkyrie answered cheerily. Sure enough, they soon heard the doorbell ring, and Valkyrie went to answer the door before coming back with Skulduggery.

"Morning, Skulduggery!" Aislinn said cheerfully. Skulduggery nodded before plunging straight to the point.

"Last night, I was attacked by an unknown mage who called herself Sheila Diablos. She seems to possess a strange power of being able to summon ordinary looking roses that nearly drained my life through the thorns." Valkyrie and Aislinn straightened at this.

"What else can she do?" Valkyrie enquired sharply.

"She led a pack of strange creatures that attacked me as well. Diablos called them golems. Not to mention, she also seems to have a personal vendetta against me for some reason or another." Skulduggery replied.

Aislinn frowned, for Skulduggery's words had made her remember something. Searching deeply within herself, she didn't notice her finger had moved to trace a name in the bread crumbs. Skulduggery noticed, and snapped Aislinn out of her reverie.

"Ash, what are you writing?" He asked. Aislinn looked up startled, and looked down in time to read what she had written. The name _Alicia _could be seen, making them frown in puzzlement.

"Alicia? Does this name seem familiar to you Ash?" Valkyrie asked gently. Aislinn merely shook her head.

"I don't know. I just know that what Skulduggery said made me remember something. Other than that, I don't know anything at all." She explained. Skulduggery sighed at this.

"It's all right, why don't we go to check things out at the Gordon's study. Who knows, we might find something." Skulduggery said cheerily. Thus began the frantic search for information on any news that had happened ten years ago, or had the name Alicia in it. The search turned up nothing, causing Aislinn's spirits to deflate.

"It's no use," Aislinn said glumly, leaning back against a couch. "There's nothing here that we can find." Valkyrie patted Aislinn's shoulder comfortingly, making the younger girl smile a little.

"We still have one more source though." Gordon offered. "You can always try China." This made Aislinn tilt her head in confusion, while Skulduggery and Valkyrie scowled in distaste.

"Her? No way in hell am I going to talk to China after what she did!" Valkyrie exclaimed angrily. Aislinn piped up then.

"Who's China?" She asked innocently. This made the other three to stare at her in surprise.

"You don't know who China is?" Gordon asked in disbelief. Aislinn shook her head in reply, making Gordon launch into an explanation.

"China Sorrows, the most beautiful woman on Earth, symbol expert, and best known for her library. It is said that her library contains every book known to us, and everyone goes there to read. Recently though, her rival Eliza Scorn revealed that China was behind the death of Skulduggery's family during war time." Gordon explained.

"What war?" Aislinn asked in confusion, earning her more looks of disbelief.

"You don't know anything at all?" Valkyrie asked incredulously. Aislinn sighed at this.

"For goodness' sake, didn't I tell you before I have no knowledge of anything from ten years ago? Also, living on the streets on the run for your life mean less time to read the news; Hell, I didn't even know I was a mage till I met you guys!" Aislinn exclaimed in exasperation, making Skulduggery sigh and inform Aislinn on all that she had missed. When Skulduggery finished explaining, Aislinn tilted her head, and asked mildly.

"Why don't you just give China a second chance?" This got her stares from them, making her sigh and further explain. "Everyone deserves a second chance, and also didn't China help you guys in the past ever since she turned over a new leaf? Just go back to her, tell her that you still don't exactly trust her, but need some information. That should work, shouldn't it?" Valkyrie and Skulduggery traded looks of surprise, before Valkyrie spoke.

"I didn't think of that. It should work." She admitted. Skulduggery stared at Valkyrie and Aislinn for a while, before grudgingly admitting defeat.

"Fine, you can go and ask her, while I go ask around for more information on Nicolas Goldeyes. Someone should know something." Skulduggery said grumpily, making Aislinn beam in delight and Valkyrie smile.

"We're still going to need a ride, Skulduggery." Valkyrie reminded him.

* * *

It took them only an hour to find China's new residence, seeing as to how Skulduggery had to navigate through twists and turns to reach the graffiti decorated building China had shifted to. Valkyrie didn't ask Skulduggery how he knew where China lived at; she figured that it was part of the reason why he had disappeared for months before coming back. Aislinn stayed close to her nervously, not liking the ambience of the place. After numerous reassurances from Valkyrie and a promise to call in case of trouble, Skulduggery left reluctantly, leaving them to ascend the building alone. Aislinn clutched Valkyrie's hand tightly throughout the trip, not daring to let go as she looked around apprehensively at the silence surrounding them. All her nerves were buzzing with a mixture of excitement and freedom even as Valkyrie stopped at a non - descript wooden door.

A knock on the door brought the sound of footsteps to them, and the door was opened from the inside, revealing a beautiful woman who could only be China Sorrows. Her beautiful raven black hair had been tied into a simple ponytail, and she wore a dark blue blouse with a black skirt. Her blue eyes studied Valkyrie curiously before falling upon Aislinn who peeked out from behind Valkyrie with a shy smile with raised eyebrows as she realised the similarities between the two girls. Valkyrie tensed, for she was ready to support Aislinn if China didn't stop her charm which was making Valkyrie feel self - conscious and under dressed in her usual working gear. Aislinn didn't seem affected though, and simply smiled shyly before greeting China. "Hello there. Might you be China Sorrows?"

China smiled at this, and replied. "Yes, I am, my dear. Looks like the rumours about you and Valkyrie Cain are true; you do look alike, apart from the eyes and hair style. Speaking of eyes, is that a soul binding seal on your right eye?" The two girls blinked in surprise at this; they had not expected China to know what Aislinn's seal was immediately.

"You… know about the seal on my eye?" Aislinn questioned hesitantly. China sighed at this, and opened her door further as a clear invitation to them. Valkyrie went in first, still keeping a wary eye on Aislinn in case she had a bad reaction to China's charm. Strangely enough, Aislinn didn't seem to react, and other than a polite 'thanks' when she entered China's flat, Aislinn acted like her usual timid self. Valkyrie frowned in confusion over this, and when China disappeared into her luxurious kitchen to get them drinks, Valkyrie took the chance to scoot over to Aislinn and question her.

"Hey Ash, are you feeling all right?" Valkyrie whispered. Aislinn tilted her head in puzzlement at this.

"Why shouldn't I?" She asked in confusion.

"Well, remember what I told you about China? She has this charm that makes almost everyone fall in love with her at first sight. I was worried for you, since this is your first time seeing China, but… You don't seem to be falling for her." Valkyrie trailed off when she saw Aislinn giggle, raising a questioning eyebrow. Aislinn was quick to explain.

"For some reason or another, charms or illusions of any kind have no effect on me. In fact, I see through them most of the time. My personal theory for this is that the earth anchors me, allowing me to see through it I guess." Aislinn replied softly. Valkyrie could only stare at Aislinn in surprise, but any comments were soon brought to a halt by China's reappearance with two glasses filled with orange. The older woman handed over the glasses before taking a seat herself.

"So you want to know more about that soul binding seal on your right eye, correct?" China questioned calmly, receiving two eager nods as her response. She stood up and headed for one of the shelves behind her, and after a few minutes of scanning, came back with a large dusty leather bound tome. The two girls exchanged puzzled glances while China flipped through the yellowed pages with a comment to explain her actions.

"This is one of the few I managed to salvage from the fire, since they were part of my most valuable collection; therefore I had placed protection wards against fire on the shelves. Anyway, the reason why I took this book is because it has the history of your seal in it, and also the name and picture of its creator. Ah, there it is. Take a look." China paused at a page, and turned the book around so that Aislinn and Valkyrie could see it.

The page contained a faded black and white picture of three smiling women sitting on a sofa, while two gentlemen with grins stood at either side. It didn't take long for Valkyrie to recognise China and Eliza Scorn sitting on either sides of an unfamiliar woman. The woman looked to be in her twenties, dressed in Victorian era dress with her long hair pinned behind an elegant clip. Her eyes seemed to be brimming with laughter as she gazed into the camera with a gentle smile. On her left, China looked exactly the same as she was now, with a bored expression while she sat stiffly in her dress. Eliza however, looked to be enjoying China's discomfort, for her gaze was on China even as she grinned with humour. On China's side, a black haired man with his hair tied back into a ponytail grinned even as he gazed at the woman in the middle, his shirt collar undone and a bow dangling from his neck while on Eliza's side, the other man, also raven haired, but his hair shorter and slicked back, stood formally, hands behind his back while he smiled into the camera.

China pointed out the unfamiliar people. "The woman in the middle is Joanna Crowe, the creator of the soul binding seal. Back then, she was the reason why Eliza and I were friends. The gentleman with the long hair is Alexander Starr, always the flirt, and was in love with Joanna back then. His younger brother James Drayman, is his opposite, always shy, quite the introvert, but always the one to turn to when you need a favour or two, or when you are lost in studies. We met before the war, and were great friends. Alexander, or Alex as he liked to be called then, had wanted to study Elemental magic initially, but his parents had insisted that he and his brother study symbol magic. James didn't mind, seeing as to how he always followed the rules. Alex, being the rebel, always made sure he didn't dress appropriately and ignored the dress code in school. Before you ask, yes, we five went to school, or to be accurate, a prestigious institute for those talented minds with the magic for learning symbol magic."

"I was among those lucky few chosen, and met the other four there. Joanna was the beauty and brains among us, but she never seemed to notice that she was a beauty. When told that she was one, she always blushed, and claimed that Eliza and I were the true beauty among the group. Our fellow schoolmates and teacher nicknamed us the Famous Five, just because we were famous for being the most talented of our peers. It was always obvious that both Alex and James were in love with Joanna, but Joanna never noticed, and even when she admitted to being in love, it was Alex she chose. Anyway, about the seal, Joanna never really told anyone how she did it. I myself questioned her the day she revealed the seal, and she told me, 'I wasn't thinking of it, honestly. I was just thinking about my dearly departed grandfather, and how he always mourned the fact that there was no magic in the world that could ever bind Grandmama's soul to him so that they could both live on together and pass on as one.' "

"You have to understand, Joanna's grandparents had been like you Valkyrie; born into a family of magic, but discovering it late. They managed to grasp the basics of it, but were too old for formal, not that they minded, since they were content being able to learn magic. So it was this memory that Joanna shared with me, and one I could always remember. We would have continued being together had the war not occurred, and all students were sent home. Joanna and Alexander disappeared, but we five were able to get together one last time for their marriage. I managed to keep in contact with them for a few years, but as the war became worse, well, I lost contact with her. The last letter they sent to me mentioned that they had a son, but after that, nothing." With that, China's gaze turned wistful and distant, obviously remembering better times. Valkyrie had a few questions though.

"China, about Alexander, eh… His surname, Starr, was it his taken or given name?" China chuckled at this, and a fond smile appeared on her face.

"Alex always considered himself the star of everything, and wanted to be unique too, so he chose his last name as Starr, with a double 'r'. And if you want to ask about the war, Joanna never liked it, and refused to take sides, her point being that it was pointless, and a waste of innocent lives. As for Alex, he went along with Joanna's thinking, and also he wished to avoid conflict, seeing as to how violence never got him anywhere during his teenage years." China explained. Valkyrie nodded in understanding, and decided to ask Aislinn to see if she had any questions of her own to air, only to be surprised by the sight of the younger girl frozen with a blank look in her eye as she gazed at the picture of Joanna.

Aislinn hadn't been listening much to Valkyrie and China's conversation, since she had frozen at the sight of Joanna and Alex's smiling features. For some reason or another, their faces stirred something within her, a feeling that was akin to…. _Longing? _Without warning, she found herself having a flashback, and could only freeze as long forgotten feelings awakened in her once more.

**CLIFFIE! Yes, yes, I know I'm an awful authoress for leaving a cliffhanger at something important. As an apology for this, and also to make up for the mini mini chapter I gave you guys last, here's an extra chapter for you! ENJOY!**

* * *

_On another continent, a vampire ran desperately in the gloom of the night, bare feet slapping the cold ground underneath him. He leaped from roof to roof, trying to shake off his pursuer. He risked a glance back to see a figure coated in black, the shadows leaping with the pursuer even as the vampire ran, wishing that he could just rip off his skin and be a beast. However, he had not been given a chance, since he had taken the serum earlier, not realising that this had been the intent of his pursuer. The vampire soon sped up his pace, for the man chasing him had started to gain some ground on him, and the last thing he wanted was to get caught by the mystery man._

_Without warning, the man disappeared within the shadows as it wrapped around him, making the vampire curse with sudden realisation at the fact that his mystery pursuer was a Necromancer. He didn't have long to curse though, since the black - coated figure suddenly appeared in front of him, and without giving the vampire a chance, punched him in the gut, causing the vampire to collapse, and miss the edge of a roof he had been aiming for in hopes of putting some distance between him and the Necromancer. He fell towards the ground, and barely managed to get his feet under him in time to lessen the impact of his fall. The Necromancer took advantage of it, and appeared out of the shadows in front of him, and the vampire suddenly found himself lying on the ground with a black sword dangerously close to his throat. The vampire gulped in sudden fear at this, and raised his gaze to the Necromancer. The moon provided enough light for him to see a pair of golden eyes glaring hatefully at him, and a gloved hand clutching the leather hilt of the sword. A black fedora rested on his head, while beneath the Necromancer's black coat, a white dress shirt could be seen and black pants completed the outfit. Silver buckles glinted in the moonlight, and the black sword shimmered in the pale light._

"_Where is she?" The Necromancer hissed in fury, the tip of the sword coming dangerously closer. The vampire babbled in response._

"_I don't know who you're talking about! I swear I don't know!" He babbled._

_The Necromancer snorted at this, and growled in reply. "Do not lie to me, Victor. Yes, I know your name, since I have been hunting you down for _years_ ever since you foolishly boasted that you had been part of the attack on the American Sanctuary eight years ago! Did you think that I would not hear about it and know that you were part of the coven that ruined my life?!" The vampire, otherwise known as Victor, quivered, and hastily replied._

"_I don't know anything! I swear I don't know, I mean, all I was told was that Ajax wanted to steal a human from you mages, and that I was part of the distraction! That's all I know I swear!" Victor babbled once more. The Necromancer narrowed his eyes at this, his golden eyes searching Victor's face._

"_Ajax? Who's he?" The Necromancer asked sharply. Realising he said too much, Victor tried to amend his mistakes by letting out a stream of nonsensical words that were stopped by the sharp blade digging into his neck and threatening to decapitate him._

"_Tell – me – who – is – Ajax!" The Necromancer snarled. Victor opened his mouth in reply, but then appeared to choke as a silver tendril wrapped into his throat and beheaded him, effectively killing him. The Necromancer howled his anger at the loss of vital information, and straightened, punching a wall that was close by._

"_Damn it!" The Necromancer cursed. For a while, he could only stand there, running through his colourful vocabulary of curse words before he ran out of steam. With a sigh, he cleaned his sword, and sheathed it. Then he dug into his coat pocket, and rummaged through it before coming up with a silver lighter. He flicked it open to reveal a small flame, and tossed it towards Victor's body which immediately caught fire. Without sparing the burning body a second glance, the Necromancer turned on his heel and shadow walked away from the burning corpse. He reappeared at an alley way where a black and silver bike waited patiently. It was a Yamaha YZF-R1, and something he had spent years saving up for when he first started his quest. It served him well, and the Necromancer was loath to get rid of it. He had barely taken a step towards it when his instincts warned him of a presence. He whipped out his sword immediately, and called out sharply._

"_Who's there?!" This was answered with a familiar chuckle, and another man stepped out of the shadows, dressed in a simple suit, and holding a cane._

"_Well, hello there Nicolas. I must say, it's been a while since we last met." Solomon Wreath said, a slight smile on his face as he regarded his former student. Nicolas sighed, and sheathed his sword once again, relaxing with a sigh as he walked straight to his bike._

"_Master Wreath, good to see you too. May I ask what the reason is for your sudden visit?" Nicolas enquired even as he popped the boot open to take out his bike helmet. His fedora took the place the helmet had vacated, and he was just about to put it on when Solomon spoke again, his words freezing him._

"_Elizabeth has been found." Solomon said calmly. Nicolas froze at this before turning around and fixing Solomon with a stare full of hope and shock. Before Nicolas could ask for more information, Solomon continued. "Yesterday afternoon, Skulduggery Pleasant, who is now Valkyrie Cain's mentor if you remember, contacted me, asking if I knew a Necromancer who goes by the name Nicolas Goldeyes, which is you. I was surprised, and asked how he came by your name, to which he replied that Elise, who has taken on the name Aislinn Night, recently turned up in Ireland searching for any connections to her forgotten past. She is now under their protection, and they also wish to help her remember her past from before the age of ten. She still remembers you, so Detective Pleasant has requested that you go to Ireland and meet them so that they could ask you for anything you know about Elise. I have arranged a date on your behalf, if you don't mind me doing so." Nicolas slumped against his bike, breathing out heavily as he turned over this revelation in his mind. He had been searching for Elise for eight long years, chasing ghost leads, and dubious information. He had almost lost hope, but now, it seemed that his search had not been for nothing. He closed his eyes, savouring the hope that had bloomed in him, before he opened his eyes again, this time filled with determination._

"_When do I leave?"_

**YAY! Nic's coming! Next chapter will be the meeting of Nicolas and our favourite crime solving duo! I hope you enjoyed this! Remember, reviews make me write faster! BYE~!**


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